I've read in several articles on the site about the importance of making sure that you're GMing the way your players want. Because of this, I've just created a feedback questionnaire which I've sent to the group I GM for, in order to see what they think. I've posted it here in case anyone else has been thinking of doing the same; it might save you a bit of time in writing one!

Note that I've been gaming with my group for a few years now (this doesn't actually translate to that many sessions, as we usually only manage 3-4 a year) and it's been successful, so I know on the whole what they like: the questionnaire was just intended to find out how it could be better. If you were about to start GMing a new group you would probably need to adapt this quite a lot. Also, a few of the questions are a bit specific: basically what I'm saying is that you'll probably need to adapt this to your own situation somewhat before using it, but a lot of the questions are fairly general so it will hopefully provide a good starting point.

There are five sections: the character sheet; the system; the adventures; game play and the game world.

Section A: The Character Sheet

1) Is there any information currently on the character sheet that you do not find useful and think we could do without?

2) It has been suggested to me by various people that they would like a couple of other bits of information on it. Please classify the following in to one of four categories:

i)Would very much like ii)Would quite like iii)DonÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t mind iv)Would be unnecessary clutter

3) Is there anything else that you would like to see on the character sheets which isnÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t there?

4) Are you happy with the six different equipment categories that I sort your equipment in to? If not, what would prefer them to be (please do not make them class specific: e.g. ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œgemstonesÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬? if you are a wizard) as I want the sheets to be generic for ease of creation.

5) Are you happy with the layout of the rest of the sheet?

6) Would you object if the character sheet went on to two pages?

7) Would you object to having to print out your own character sheet?

Is there anything else youÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢d like to say about the character sheet?

Section B: The DASTS system

1) What is the thing that you like most about the DASTS system, compared to other systems you have gamed with?

2) What is the thing about the DASTS system that you like least (please do not say ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œI am less familiar with itÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬?) or that you think works least well?

3) If you had to add a new module (e.g. the guilds module) to DASTS, what would you like it to allow characters to do?

4) Do you find your character advances in a reasonable way?

5) Do you feel that you generally understand what the pros and cons of gaining various skills/joining a guilds/other development choices are?

6) Do you think the game system is mainly well balanced?

7) Even if you answered ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œyesÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬? to Q6, there is probably something which you donÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t think is quite right. What thing do you think is over or underpowered in the DASTS system?

If you wanted to add one new weapon, what would it be? How would it differ (in terms of game mechanics) from the existing weapons?

9) If you wanted to add one new skill, what would it be, and what would it let you do?

10) If you wanted to add one new potion, what would it be, and what would it let you do?

11) If you wanted to add one new spell or prayer, what would it be, and what would it let you do?

12) If you wanted to add one new piece of equipment, what would it be, and what would it let you do?

13) Is there anything else youÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢d like to say about the system?

Section C: Adventure types

1) Do you generally enjoy the adventures? (Hopefully this is a yes!).

2) Give your opinion of the following types of adventures as either:i)Enjoy a lot ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ theyÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢re really great ii)Enjoy these. iii)TheyÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢re OK. iv)Really not too keen on this style.

a)Traditional dungeoneering/ treasure seeking ones (e.g. the Fireswamp one). Quite a lot of combat, probably some puzzles. Little human contact. b)ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œSituational problem solvingÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬? (e.g. the one with the poisoning of people in the sewers, and getting in to the Order Temple). You have to figure out whatÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s going on and solve ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œreal lifeÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬? problems (e.g. how do I get in to this guarded temple); some talking and diplomacy, some combat. c)Mainly travelling and combat, but some contact with people. E.g. the one where you scouted out the southern portion of Kerys and went to meet the monk-smiths. Basically somewhere in between the above two types. d) Off the wall, one of a kind adventures (e.g. building a fort; defending Kierst-Isel). Usually little personal danger, lots of diplomacy, and very unusual challenges.

3) Do you agree with the statement ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œI like it best when we have a mix of different types of adventures.ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬?

4) Do you feel that the adventures I set are suited to the type of character class that you are?

5) Do you like the way I am giving you some choice on what you want to do for the next adventure (e.g. where to go, etc.)

6) Would you like more choice than this?

7) Do you think the adventures are being satisfactorily tied together in to a world campaign?

Do you like city adventures or country adventures better? Or both equally?

9) Evaluate the following types of role play activity in to one of four categories:

i)I like this a lot. You should put it in every adventure, even if it means having to force the plot or suspend disbelief. ii)I like this and it should be in most adventures, though I donÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t mind if itÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s not in the occasional one. Tiii)This is fun now and again, but I donÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t need it to be in every time. iv)DonÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t like it.

a)Combat b)Diplomacy c)Situational problem solving d)Puzzles

10) Is there anything else youÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢d like to say about the adventures?

Section D: Game play

1) Do you generally think the game play runs smoothly?

2) How would you describe the pace of the game? Are there any areas where you think it generally goes to fast or too slow?

3) Do I give good enough descriptions for things? Are they too detailed, or not detailed enough?

4) WhatÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s the worst thing I do in terms of managing game play?

5) Do you generally feel that I give everyone the chance to take part fully (i.e. no-one is left out)?

6) Do you generally feel you are able to do the things that you want to do?

7) Do I use GMÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s fiat too much?

Assuming it is not necessary to have an NPC in the party (e.g. if Paul wasnÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t here you would need an NPC mage; ditto Victor and an NPC thief), would you like to have one anyway?

9) How soon after the scheduled ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œstart timeÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬? should we start?

10) What is your opinion of character deaths (i.e. assuming they donÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t get resurrected)?a) PCs should never die. End of story.b) I donÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t mind if low level PCs die (by low level I mean level 1-3), but I donÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t want a character IÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢ve spent a long time building up to die.c) In general, you should plan the adventures so that they wonÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t die. However, if we do something really stupid and then have a bit of bad luck, I donÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t expect you to make the rest of the adventure easier just to make sure that one of us doesnÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t die. d) I like my character dying every now and again, providing my new character starts at a similar level. It lets me try out different characters.

11) Are you aware of the fact that I am quite happy for you to use a ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œvacation characterÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬? for a session if you want. By this I mean letÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s suppose Nick wants to try out playing an archivist. He just puts Drugar aside, rolls up an appropriate level archivist character who randomly joins your group whilst Drugar is off attending to some family business or something. Then next session he plays with Drugar again.

12) Is there anything else you want to say about game play?

Section E: The game world

1) Do you find youÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢re getting a handle on what the game world is like?

2) Do you find the game world a fairly interesting one to role play in?

3) What do you like least about the game world?

4) What do you like most about the game world?

5) What would you add to the game world if you had the choice?

6) Any other points to make about the game world?

Thank you for filling in this feedback questionnaire. If you have any other comments you would like to make about any aspect of the role play, please feel free to write them here.